Games to blame for illiteracy, says The Sun

English children's reading skills have slipped from third to fifteenth in the world, according to a new study – and it's all the games industry's fault, says The Sun.

Kids hooked on computer games have sent England plummeting down world league tables for reading,” begins the story in today's Sun. Ministers claimed pupils spend so much time on consoles that they are not burying their noses in books,” it continues.

The story is pulled from a study of literacy amongst primary school children, which states that more than a third of ten-year-olds spend three hours or more playing games after school every day, much more than children in other European countries.

Schools secretary Ed Balls adds: Today's youngsters have more choice now than in 2001 about how they spend their time. Most of them have their own TVs and mobiles and 37 per cent are playing computer games for three hours a day. We all need to help our children of all ages to see that reading can bring fun to their lives.”